Event

Solo Show Festival: Three Award-Winning Solo Performances is a series of critically acclaimed solo shows that have been developed in partnership with The Farm Theater. Lee Kaplans BULLY, Padraic Lillis Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally?, and Douglas Taurels THE AMERICAN SOLDIER will be performed in rep between November 29th through December 10th. Purchase tickets to an individual show, or get a festival package and see all three!

WEEK ONE:WednesdayNov. 29th at7:00PM- BULLYThursday Nov. 30th at 7:00PM THE AMERICAN SOLDIERFriday Dec. 1st at7:00PM- Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally?Saturday Dec 2nd at3:00PM- BULLYSaturday Dec 2nd at 7:00PM- THE AMERICAN SOLDIER

WEEK TWO:Wednesday, Dec. 6th at7:00PM- BULLYThursday, Dec. 7th at 7:00PM -BULLYFriday, Dec. 8th at 7:00PM- Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally?Saturday, Dec. 9th at3:00PM- BULLYSaturday Dec. 9th at7:00PM -Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally?Sunday, Dec. 10th at 3:00PM- BULLY

More than 13,000 people have seen Lee J. Kaplan's solo autobiographical show,Bullly(directed by Padraic Lillis), since its premiere in 2012. Inspired by Kaplan's real-life middle school journal entries and set in a boxing ring, Lee goes toe-to-toe with his childhood tormentors ashe tells the story of merciless bullying attacks and their long-lasting impact. It is the fight of his life: a story about finding the will and a way to finally stand up to the bullies.After sold-out premiere runs in New York and Washington, D.C. and an international tour of schools and theatres in the U.S. and Canada,Bullyreturns for a limited run New York's IRT Theater, in association with The Farm Theater and Stable Cable Lab Company.

Each performance of Lee J. Kaplan'sBullywill be preceded by a new solo piece written by a student artist.Bullydirector Padraic Lillis and Lee have been working with three student artists to help them create their own solo shows and are thrilled to debut their work during this run at IRT. www.bullytheshow.com

Unassailable messages sugarcoated with ounces of sweat, pounds of goofy humor, and tons of heart. The New York TimesBully is devastating and should be required viewing. The Washington Post

Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally?Written and Performed by Padraic LillisDirected by Scott Illingworth(Fri 12/1 & 12/8 at 7pm, Sat 12/9 at 7pm)

105 PEOPLE DIE FROM SUICIDE EVERY DAY IN THE UNITED STATES. One reason is because we dont talk about it. Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally? is a personal, honest, and humorous sharing of thoughts on the issue of suicide.

It felt like all of the collective suicidal thoughts that had ever entered the audiences heads came to sit alongside us in the theatre, right next to the ghosts of loved ones who had chosen to exit this life at their own hands. We were immersed in the temporary nature of existence, and it felt cathartic to have the storyteller say out loud our ruminations and impossible questions on choosing to leave our lives too soon. It is a brave work. Its scary and necessary. It will certainly go down on my list of Perfect Moments.-NYTheatreguide

Hope You Get to Eleven is an emotionally driven solo piece that discusses things that can be hard to admit. Inspired by his own story, Lillis smartly doesnt tip toe around the subject. He brings dry humor to balance the gravitas. And there is a hell of a lot of gravitas in this play.-Theaterinthenow.com

THE AMERICAN SOLDIERWritten and Performed by Douglas TaurelDirected by Padraic Lillis(Thu 11/30 at 7pm, Sat 12/2 at 7pm)

In 55 minutes, this Off-Broadway Award Nominated show explores the bravery and difficulties our veterans with PTSD and their families face on a daily basis.Enhanced by an interplay of sound and lights, The American Soldier enters the personas of 14 veterans and their family members, telling their stories of courage and sacrifice. It honors and exposes their scars and spirits with both darkness and humor. This 4 Star Show is based onreal letters written by veterans and their family members from the American Revolution all the way through current day Afghanistan.www.theamericansoldiersoloshow.com

This play is a voice for veterans-Veteran from Iraq & Afghanistan, Purple Heart Recipient 2014

The Farm Theater:The name is inspired by the "farm" system of baseball whose role is to provide experience and training for developing players. The Farm Theater develops early career artists that may not have the support system afforded others, through workshops, productions, and mentoring. The centerpiece of our programming is the College Collaboration. This program has commissioned four playwrights and worked in collaboration with ten colleges. In our first year developed a play that was produced Off-Broadway by Stable Cable and had a sold out run, the first two plays of the program have been published in Indie Theater Now, and the project has beenfeatured in articles in American Theater Magazine and on HowlRound. The Farm Theater has produced Vickie Tanners solo show Running Into Me, Artist Director Padraic Lillis show on suicide awareness Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally? that was awarded Best Solo Show and Planet Advocate Award at Planet Connections Theatre Festival. This summer The Farm Partnered with Planet Connections Theatre Festival to produce Alex Riads The Floor Is Lava. www.thefarmtheater.org

STABLE CABLE LAB CO. is a non-profit organization that strives to create an environment for new work and theater artists to flourish. We do this through developmental readings and workshops, ensemble laboratories and training, and productions. Stable Cable Lab Co. first informally came together and started to develop work in 2011 with its founding members (Lisa Jill Anderson, Brian Edelman, and Seth Hamlin), and began consistently producing work under the name "Stable Cable Lab Co." in 2012. Productions include: the world premiere of The Conspiracists written & directed by Max Baker at IRT Theater in 2017; In the Event of My Death by Lindsay Joy, directed by Padraic Lillis at IRT Theater in 2016; the workshop production of Terminalia by Collin McConnell, directed by J.K. Musser at IRT Theater in 2016; Because Me written & directed by Max Baker at the Wild Project in 2015; Live from the Surface of the Moon written & directed by Max Baker (recipient of an LMCC MCAF grant) at the Wild Project in 2015; the workshop production of #WHATIWASWEARING (in collaboration with Arethusa Speaks) at the Wild Project in 2015; the workshop production of Accidents Waiting to Happen by Jonathan Libman, directed by Padraic Lillis at IRT Theater in 2014; the workshop production of Nibbler by Ken Urban, directed by Stephen Brackett at Theatre54 in 2013; the workshop production of the devised piece i love you more than all the stars in the sky with text by Emily Daly (featured in foolsFURY's Factory Parts in San Francisco, CA) in 2013; the devised piece The Eden Project directed by Seth Hamlin, choreographed by KC Luce (world premiere as part of the Dream Up Festival at Theater for the New City and workshop production at The Bridge Theater) in 2012; the world premiere of Barter (Or, Stealing Other People's Credit Cards) by Emily Daly, directed by Jonathan Libman (Washington DC Capital Fringe) in 2012; and the annual LiveWire Short Play Festival in 2014 through 2017 featuring works by playwrights including Halley Feiffer, Christopher Gabriel Nuñez, Nat Cassidy, Breanna Foister, Emily Daly, and many more.

IRT Theater is a grassroots laboratory for independent theater and performance in New York City, providing space and support to a new generation of artists. Tucked away in the old Archive Building in Greenwich Village, IRTs mission is to build a community of emerging and established artists by creating a home for the development and presentation of new work. Some of the artists we have supported include Young Jean Lee, Reggie Watts and Mike Daisey.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts and The Nancy Quinn Fund, a project of ART-NY.